American Hi-Fi - Hearts on Parade

Genre rock Publisher Maverick Records External Links Official Website Maverick Records

Stacy Jones has an identity crisis, and he's not afraid to admit it. In fact, he mentions it at both ends of his band's bio - in the opening paragraph and at the penultimate sentence (the last sentence being "Rock and roll rules!" for those who doubt his true intentions). Methinks our Stacy doth protest too much. And for good reason - for the past thirteen years Jones has been a sort of second-tier alterna-Zelig, appearing at the height of the Zeitgeist in bands with "that one song." First he was the drummer in Boston band Letters to Cleo, whose pseudo-catchy tongue-twister single "Here and Now" was all over radio thanks to the video's inclusion at the tail end of Melrose Place. Then he was in Veruca Salt, though never on record, in addition to a number of forgettable fake-indie tunes.

Now Jones is firmly entrenched in his new band, American Hi-Fi, and out from behind the drum kit. Again, his bio is telling - American Hi-Fi was dropped by Island, Jones laments, after they decided that "the future of music was with 'emo' bands." This would be fine, except that the lead single from American Hi-Fi's new album is called "The Geeks Get the Girls." Whoops.

Undeterred, Jones has surrounded this now-obsolete sentiment with of-the-moment punk-wavey McKeyboard stuff that would make Ric Ocasek proud. It's not actually that bad as far as summery disposable teen pop goes. It's got all the hallmarks of the current vogue for New Wave. There are hanclaps, squelchy keys and sweet harmonies to evoke the Fast Times at Ridgemont High aesthetic that, frankly, anyone who remembers it the first time through is too old to be evoking in public.

Taken on its own, outside of the context of new-wave history, Hearts on Parade is an ephemeral masterpiece, aware of its short shelf-life and imminent future in the used bins of America. It functions so perfectly on this level that I'm a bit sad, knowing that the winter will bring a new trend in pop music that will be the sun toward which Stacy Jones will turn his talented yet disingenuous face.